


always dreaming

by queervampire



Series: a pair of kings [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Banner-centric, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Misunderstandings, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Trans Bruce Banner, Trans Thor, also: the author butchers some icelandic and passes it off as old norse for the Romance™, i'm trans and i'm god now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-18 12:30:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13681713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queervampire/pseuds/queervampire
Summary: Thor had kissed him, so gently that Bruce felt like he was floating, before moving away and whispering against his lips toplease, stay here. With me. Just for a little longer.Now, a year later, Bruce is standing in front of a mirror in a white tunic and pants. It was the traditional Asgardian wedding garb, the same that he'd be wearing during his own wedding in half an hour.





	always dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to [guide me through](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13674195), which I published first, and is significantly shorter than this fic. Both can be read as standalones. Title comes from ["All Night" by The Vamps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2pmKziUE5w).
> 
> Enjoy! (Also please forgive any typos I'm posting this at 2:30 in the morning.)

Bruce could say, without a doubt, that the last year had been the best of his life. As someone pushing fifty, that said something.

To put it lightly, his life hadn't been the best. He wished he could erase the first ten years of his life from his head. The only memories he wanted to keep was the few he had of his mom's rare smiles and all those hours where he hid away with his cousin in the library. Anything from the first day of middle school to his first day of college was pretty much unremarkable. Everything after that was... decent. He had a nice enough life after graduation up until the Incident.

He couldn't remember being as  _happy_ as he was right now, though. Bruce, if he was asked, would say that waking up on Sakaar with no knowledge of where he was or what was going on except for how blue Thor's eyes were was the moment everything changed. Bruce hadn't realized it then - he had barely enough of a grip on things to just walk straight, let alone sit back and analyze why his heart was suddenly racing every time Thor touched him on that strange planet. He didn't get a chance to really confront it all until after saving Asgard and getting back in sync with Hulk.

Alone in his large guest room, he sat in unfamiliar clothes in a bed way too big for one person, he realized. Well. It was less of a realization and more of a sudden punch to the nose. Bruce knew his attraction to Thor was a lot older than Sakaar, of course, but he'd only ever thought of his feelings that way. He was just attracted to an objectively hot and kind-hearted man, which didn't have to change anything about their working relationship. He didn't have the confidence to admit that his feelings were now  _feelings_ until then. He didn't sleep much.

Somehow, little bits of that confidence stretched out towards the next morning, when he asked Thor if he wouldn't mind him not going back to Earth just yet.

(Bruce still wondered, every so often, what would've happened if he was a little less brave that day. He imagined a reality where he went on the Rainbow Bridge back to the Avengers; back to living under Ross' burning stare; back to his old life, without Thor ever knowing how he felt. It was a life where Bruce never learned just how soft Thor's lips were.

It was the scariest thing he'd ever imagined.)

Bruce remembered the next few weeks with stunning clarity. The first thing he'd asked about, nervously, was whether or not they had HRT on Asgard; he'd had to explain it to Thor, at first, before he caught on and realized what they were talking about. He hadn't batted an eye (he only had the one, now, and _wow_ was that gonna take some getting used to). Instead, he explained how it worked on Asgard - which really wasn't any different from Earth, thankfully, as Bruce would rather not see how some weird magical space-potion would react with his body versus the testosterone gel he was used to - and talked about his own experiences with it, much to Bruce's chagrin. He may have gotten a little too excited once the healers got into the real science of it. Still, he got what he needed and something in him settled.

Things went just as great after that. Thor showed Bruce around Asgard and the palace, teaching him about their history and all of his favorite hiding places as a child. Bruce and Brunnhilde got to know each other, which actually went amazingly, making Bruce feel as if they'd been best friends for years. He and Thor got closer, too; they frequently spent time sitting in one of their rooms or the royal garden. They talked about everything - their childhoods, families, hopes, fears, favorite songs - while just as often saying nothing at all as they enjoyed each other's company. It was in those moments that Bruce felt most at peace, sitting on the smooth stone beneath the golden-leaved tree and feeling the warmth of Thor's skin when their arms brushed against each other.

It was also during one of those moments that Thor had kissed him, so gently that Bruce felt like he was _floating_ , before moving away and whispering against his lips to  _please, stay here. With me. Just for a little longer._

Now, a year later, Bruce is standing in front of a mirror in a white tunic and pants. It was the traditional Asgardian wedding garb, the same that he'd be wearing during his own wedding in half an hour.

He could've never seen his life turning out like this all those years ago - when he left Earth and spent two years on Sakaar in a deep sleep - but he's glad it has. He's so glad that Thor found him and welcomed him into his home; allowed  _Bruce_ to call it his home, too. He'll never stop being thankful for that one night under the tree in the royal garden, golden leaves fluttering around them as Thor asked Bruce to stay and Bruce told him  _yes_. There's no force in the universe that could stop Bruce from feeling so  _blessed_  for one amazing year.

The door opened. Brunnhilde walked in, wearing her Valkyrie uniform, only her hair was tied up in a bun and her blue cape was worn more like a shawl. She gave him a once-over and whistled.

"Shut up," said Bruce. He could see his face go red in the mirror, so he ducked his head, running his fingers along the silver embroidery at the hem of his sleeves.

He mostly heard rather than saw Brunnhilde come up behind him. When he looked back up at the mirror, she was on his left, grinning. "Look at you, the perfect bride."

Bruce choked on air. "Thor's wearing the same thing!" he said in what was (mostly) mock-offense.

Brunnhilde laughed and nudged him in the ribs, her grin softening to a smile. "Seriously, though. You look good. Not everyone can pull off white." She made a point of posing in the mirror while he laughed at her.

After a few moments of silence, she turned to look him in the face. "So. Bruce. How're you feeling?"

He glanced at the mirror again to fix his hair before looking back at her with a small smile. "I- I feel good. Scared and nervous and  _really, really anxious_ , but... in a good way?"

"Yeah, that's normal." She paused. "I felt the same on my wedding day... So did Anna." For a moment, her face got that far-away look. Bruce was only recently familiar with it; she only ever got that face when she talked about her wife, or any moment in her life before Hela. Like she was suddenly finding herself back in a place that stopped existing a long time ago.

He brushed his hand on her elbow, snapping her out of it.

"Anyway," she continued, "Thor totally feels the same. Sif shooed us all out of the room so she could give him a pep-talk. I left the Warriors Three to deal with Loki's tantrum in the hallway."

The image of Loki kicking and screaming as Fandral and Volstagg desperately tried to calm him down while Hogun inevitably sneaked off sent Bruce into a giggle-fit. Then Brunnhilde laughed at his giggling, forcing Bruce into full-out laughter for a good minute until they were both wheezing and clutching at their stomachs.

"Oh my god," said Brunnhilde, wiping a tear from her eye. Then: "You're really marrying him."

Bruce smiled to himself. "I am."

"You're gonna be  _king_."

"Technically, prince consort."

Brunnhilde rolled her eyes. "Not to me, though. So long as I still get to do this-" (she flicked his forehead with a _thunk_ ) "-you'll always just be that weird little guy on Sakaar to me."

"You have such a way with words." His grin felt so big he almost worried he'd be stuck like that, forever frozen in pure, unabashed joy.

"Shut up," she said, laughing, and Bruce _had_ to hug her. She humored him for a good fifteen seconds before the door opened again.

Sif poked her head in. "It's time, Bann- _your Highness_."

"He's not married yet, Sif, hold your horses."

She scoffed. "I'm getting myself used to it!"

"Sure, sure, whatever." Brunnhilde walked in the direction of the door before turning back to Bruce, a small smile on her lips. "You ready?"

He gave himself another once-over in the mirror. His cheeks were still pink from laughter, his eyes twinkling slightly. His hair was as good as it was gonna get, cropped on the sides and fluffy at the top, which Thor always thought was adorable for some reason. He fixed the collar of his shirt.

"Yeah," he said, softly. "Yeah, I'm ready."

* * *

Bruce remembered the day that Thor proposed to him, gently taking his face in his hands and laying his heart at Bruce's feet.

They'd been together for little over nine months, then. Those nine months held some of the happiest moments of Bruce's life. They'd decided to take things slow, what with how new this was and Thor being king and Bruce being... well, _Bruce_. They started with walks and hand-holding, hugging and cuddling in each other's rooms or the garden, nervously kissing each other like they were kids doing their firsts all over again. They needed more than a month to shyly whisper ' _I love you_ '. It took nearly two months of slowly getting comfortable around each other for Bruce's desires to finally overpower his fear of intimacy as he deepened Thor's regular goodnight kiss, pulling him into his room until Bruce fell back on the bed with Thor on top of him, hands tight in blonde hair as he begged Thor to just keep kissing him,  _yes_ he could do _that_ , _don't stop doing that pleasehoneyplease_ -

The next morning was good, too. Gentle kisses along his shoulders and neck was definitely the nicest way to wake up. Having the first thing he saw being Thor's remaining blue eye was still a sight to behold. The deep and rumbling  _good morning, my love_  made him smile, insides warm and funny-feeling as he hid his face in the pillow. Thor just laughed at his bashfulness and kissed his jaw until they were kissing, smiling too big against each other's mouths to do it properly.

That was how Bruce spent his mornings. His days were even better.

They'd have breakfast in bed before dressing and going about their usual routines. Thor spent most of his time fulfilling his kingly duties. Bruce, on the other hand, had plenty of time to spare; that was the perk of having your boyfriend be king of a whole planet, apparently. Usually, Bruce would be spending his mornings with the children in the city as he told them stories of Earth or reading up on the stories of Asgard in the library. He'd grab lunch with Brunnhilde before either following to watch as she trained the Valkyrie or they split up as she went to do her own thing and Bruce went to wander. Usually, he'd go to either his room or the garden to meditate. Sometimes, though, Thor would send a servant to find him or catch him himself and request that he come to the king's rooms for a "personal matter".

That sounded like an innuendo, which was a tragedy, because it was probably the least arousing thing they did together. "Personal matter" was just shorthand for "I'm going to tell you about some problems I can't figure out how to solve and I need you to advise me on the best course of action because I love and trust you and Loki just wants to kill everything so he's no help." Thor started asking him to do that about five months into their relationship. As tedious as it was, Bruce was happy to help his boyfriend in anyway he could, especially since he was basically living off of him for months. Thor always seemed to be thankful for it, which sent a nice warm feeling into Bruce's gut.

In the evenings after dinner, Bruce would take Thor’s arm as they walked around the palace, either talking about their day or just enjoying each other’s company. They always ended their walks at Bruce’s door, where he’d ask Thor if he wanted to come inside. If he said no, they’d just share a sweet goodnight kiss before parting ways. If he said yes, then Bruce would walk into his room and sit on the edge of his bed while Thor closed the door behind him. By the time he was on top of Bruce, the smaller man would already have his robe and tunic off, so Thor’s hands or mouth would roam freely as Bruce laid back and enjoyed the attention.

It was on one of those occasions - a month or so before Thor proposed- that Bruce took a moment to ask, "Hey, Thor?", but couldn't go any further because Thor pushed two fingers inside of him.

Thor hummed. He was wearing that little smirk he had whenever he got Bruce speechless.

Bruce tried again. "Okay, okay. Why aren't we- Fuck! Oh,  _fuck_ ,  _honey_." Thor had moved on from fingering him to rubbing at his clit. Bruce was gone, electricity shooting up his spine as he writhed. He was always pretty quiet during sex; the only sounds filling the room for a good minute were his breathy little moans, Thor's whispered encouragements, and the wet sound of Thor's fingers taking him apart. Bruce whined out his name.

He could feel Thor's grin on the inside of his thigh. "What was that?" He was using that low, rumbling sex voice that he knew made Bruce's legs go weak. The bastard. "I must be slacking if you can still speak." He relented, though, pulling his fingers out so that Bruce could collect himself.

He laughed breathlessly. "Why- Why don't we just live together?"

Thor went back to fingering him as he thought out an answer, sucking love bites on the inside of his thighs. Bruce’s head was thrown back, right hand skirting around his chest while his left clutched at the sheets, when Thor crawled up to kiss him all open-mouthed and left them both flustered.

Thor pulled back, panting. His hair, which was slowly growing back, brushed against Bruce's face. "I’m.... not sure." Then he added a third finger as he ground against Bruce’s thigh. They both moaned. Thor crawled back down, trailing kisses as he went. Bruce was going to keep the conversation going - he really was - but Thor replaced his fingers with his mouth and Bruce's train of thought merrily chugged off a cliff.

He was going to bring it up later. He really, really was because, honestly? They lived in the same room already.

Thor's bed was empty most nights. He only ever spent the night in his own room when he had work to take care of and, when he didn't, slept with Bruce. Sure, they had a nice sex life (a _very_ nice, _very_ active, and _very satisfying_ sex life), but that wasn't why Thor stayed over so much. They simply cuddled and fell asleep together half of the time. After it became a regular thing, Thor started leaving a clean set of clothes for the morning after. Eventually, they set aside part of Bruce's ridiculously large wardrobe for Thor's things.

The only times Bruce actually saw Thor in his room were whenever he acted as an unofficial adviser. It was beautiful, with ornate carvings all along the walls and ceilings, a bed somehow bigger than Bruce's own (which he didn't realize was possible until then) with the softest blankets that he'd ever touched, a large fireplace, and a balcony with the perfect view of Heimdall's observatory. Everything was decorated in gold. Bruce asked Thor, once, why he didn't sleep here more. Thor had smiled as he pulled him down into his lap. "Because, _elskan mín_ ," he said, brushing a finger along his cheek, "what's the point of all this beauty if I could simply look at you?"

Bruce wanted to ask why he didn't just invite him to spend his nights there, then. He ended up not saying anything. He didn't know why Thor never slept in his own room, just like he didn't know why Thor would rather sleep in what was technically still a guest room, or what  _elskan mín_ \- something Thor called him whenever they were alone with so much reverence and love - even meant. Bruce also didn't know why he couldn't just ask Thor about those things. He knew Thor wouldn't lie to him and, if the answers were truly private, Bruce wouldn't push.

So when Thor had answered Bruce in bed that night by saying  _I'm not sure_ , that should've been the end of it. But it wasn't; later, as Thor was slept soundly with an arm wrapped around his waist, Bruce swore he could've seen something flicker in the other man's eye in that moment. He wasn't sure  _what_ that something was, but it left an odd feeling in his stomach. He didn't know whether that feeling was telling him to ask further or drop the subject. He could feel the Other Guy - who hadn't made an appearance since Hela's defeat - get testy at it, too. He tried to calm them both down.

The problem was that Bruce _did_ want to share a room with Thor.  _Officially_. He just didn't know if Thor felt the same, so the uncomfortable feeling grew.

He wasn't sure how he fell asleep that night.

Luckily, he didn't get a chance to worry about it for a while. When he woke up the next morning, half of the bed was cold. Thor had left a note on the nightstand apologizing profusely, but there was an urgent diplomatic matter that he had to attend to, after which he'd call on Bruce to explain more and apologize in person. Bruce couldn't find it in himself to be upset. Thor had his responsibilities. Besides - he left a long note, one with a whole section where he went on a tangent about how beautiful Bruce looked when he slept. It was very sweet.

Bruce didn't see Thor until late in the evening, when one of the palace servants found him in the garden and informed him that Thor requested his presence for an "incredibly urgent personal matter." The wording made Bruce a little nervous. The girl's shaky hands and her attempts to catch her breath after running from Thor's room to Bruce didn't make him feel any better, though he was able to calm her down enough so that she didn't look like she would faint as soon as Bruce was gone.

He could hear the fight at the end of the hall. It only took a few moments for him to recognize the voices as Thor's and Loki's, currently caught in a screaming match, punctuated by the loud  _thud!_ 's of thrown objects. Bruce considered leaving them to their family problem, but then he clearly heard Loki yell something about Thor trusting his "paramour" over his own brother because he was still thinking with _certain parts_ of himself when he was king and-

That pissed him off. That _really_ pissed him off, because not only was Thor was an  _amazing_ king who managed to rebuild his kingdom within the first month of of his rule, he managed to make it even stronger. Also, the insinuation that he was only with Bruce for the sex was ridiculous. It was offensive. More importantly, it was completely untrue. (It didn't matter if that thought gave Bruce a whole new insecurity about their relationship, despite it making no sense whatsoever.)

So Bruce slammed the door open, furious, and barely avoided a book that Thor had meant for Loki's head.

"Oh, great, there he is!" said Loki, sarcasm dripping off every word. Thor ran over to Bruce, apologizing about the projectile and that morning again, but Bruce was too busy glaring at Loki to really react to it.

"Okay, I know you don't like me and I don't like you either-"

"At least we agree on something."

"-but saying that Thor isn't an  _amazing_ and  _wonderful_  and _perfect_ king just because I'm around is way out of line, even for you." Thor looked touched.

Loki just rolled his eyes at them. "So of course the fact that he wants to leave  _you_  in charge is just a happy coincidence, then?"

" _Brother_ ," growled Thor.

Bruce just blinked. "I'm not in charge of anything. What are you talking about?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Thor swallowed. He turned to him. "Thor, what's he talking about?"

"Go on, brother," said Loki, arms crossed as he grinned at them both. "Tell him."

Bruce pointed at him and said, " _You_  can shut up," just as Thor said, "I have to go to Alfheim and I want you to serve as regent while I'm gone."

" _What_?"

Alfheim, apparently, hadn't escaped Hela's whole _thing_ unscathed. While she did pretty much all of her damage to Asgard, she'd stopped by Alfheim on her way. Thor was already aware of it, apparently, as he'd sent aid only a few days after she died. What he hadn't been aware of was the infighting among the late queen's three children - triplets, because of course they were were - as they disagreed over who ought to rule next. Technically, there was an oldest, so she assumed power during the months after Hela's murder spree while her siblings fought.

Then, that morning, a group of refugees caught Heimdall's attention and he brought them to Asgard. That was when Thor found out what had happened only three days prior: the oldest triplet had been poisoned and her sisters had started a civil war over who would take his place. Thor had to go bring peace back to the planet and he wasn't sure when he'd be back; hopefully, he could resolve the situation in a few weeks, but someone would have to take his place in the interim.

"But _why_ does that have to be _me_?" said Bruce. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a scientist, not a politician."

"That's what I told him!" shouted Loki, but they both ignored it.

Thor placed his hands on Bruce's shoulders. "Bruce. I know that I'm asking a lot of you, but I know that you can handle it. You've helped me govern my realm almost every day. This is exactly like that."

"It's really  _not_ , Thor." Bruce ran his hands through his hair, pushing Thor's hands off him as he backed away. "That's you asking me for an  _opinion_. This is me  _ruling a planet_ , I can't- I'm not even from here! I'm just your  _boyfriend_. Nobody would even listen to me!"

Thor reached out again and took Bruce's hands in his own. "You are so much more than that, my love. You must know that. Especially to me." He kissed Bruce's knuckles. Loki, somewhere in the background, gagged. "Yes, you're not Asgardian royalty, but I'm king. The people would lay themselves at your feet if I simply said the word."

"Please, don't."

"I won't. But if you agree, I'll tell them that your will is as good as my own until I return. There won't be any worshiping or grovelling. You'd simply take my position on the throne and they will respect you as they would me. They _already_ do." He looked deeply into Bruce's eyes as he said all of this. "You're the one person I trust with my kingdom, not because I love you, but because you love my people as much as I do. I know they will love you in turn. Please,  _elskan mín_. There are no better hands that I would place Asgard in than yours."

That... that was a lot. That was  _a whole lot_ of trust that Thor was placing in him and he wasn't entirely sure he deserved it. And, god, he'd seen how stressed Thor could be on a  _good day_. Bruce's anxiety was bad enough when he was doing nothing at all. What was he supposed to do with that for a week, if not longer?

In a hushed voice, Thor leaned closer and said, "If you truly do not want to, I won't force you."

"No, no, that's- That's not it." Bruce sighed. "I want to. I do, and it means a lot that you'd trust me that much, but... Thor, I don't think I'd be able to handle it. You know how I get on a bad day," he said, thinking of those times where he became too anxious to leave his room or the rarer times where he was too depressed to even get out of bed. "You're patient with me, but not everybody else will be. I can't take a mental health day with this."

Something had lit up in Thor's eye when Bruce started coming around. He could see it, the blue of his iris turning bright while he started to smile. "There's no need to worry. Sif will help you, as will Heimdall, along with Brunnhilde and Fandral..."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at that. " _Fandral_?"

"He is smarter than he appears." Thor was grinning, now, and it was a little infectious. "So will Loki, of course."

" _I will not_!" he cried. They ignored him again.

Bruce thought about it. He imagined himself sitting on Thor's throne, taking petitions, helping people come to decisions or overseeing projects. He couldn't really see it, but he could see Sif giving him advice. He could also see Brunnhilde sharing her knowledge of what  _not_ to do, while Heimdall would keep him informed on what anyone important was doing. He couldn't see Fandral or Loki helping much, really, but still... he was pretty convinced.

He thought for a few moments, biting his lip, until he finally breathed in and said, "Alright. I'll do it."

Thor pulled Bruce into a passionate kiss as Loki lost it, yelling about how this was unfair and made no sense, Bruce didn't even have experience, he was just a  _mortal_ , and would they please stop trying to suck each other's faces off and _listen to him_?

Thor broke the kiss with an eye-roll. Bruce may have followed his lips for a second, but no one called him out on it. "Bruce," he said, "would you mind waiting in the hall for me? I need to speak with my brother for a moment."

"Oh. Oh, yeah, uh, alright." Bruce stumbled out the door as Loki went back to yelling at his brother.

He did not try listening in on their conversation. He was an adult; he did not _eavesdrop_. All he could say was that, even if someone placed their ear on the door, all they would have heard was Loki's shouting being abruptly cut off as Thor spoke too softly to be heard through the wood. All Bruce could make out was his muffled voice going on for few minutes, before Loki - who was apparently very close to the door - went, "Oh. That's... well."

Bruce was a good two feet away from the door by the time it opened. Loki came out first, looking much calmer than he did a little bit ago, though he definitely wasn't ecstatic about anything. Thor followed, looking not much different, though he did turn to Bruce with an odd smile. "Right! It's been settled. You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Bruce smiled back, cupping Thor's cheek. "Nope."

Loki watched them, arms crossed and face unreadable, saying nothing.

The next day was spent spreading the news around Asgard while Thor, Sif, and Fandral taught Bruce the basics of what he had to do and needed to know. There was, to no surprise from Bruce, a lot he needed to learn. In fact, a day wasn't enough to teach him everything. By evening, Bruce still had no idea what he was doing, but Thor was already gathering warriors and a handful of Valkyrie to come with him to Alfheim. Bruce didn't get a chance to talk to him again until he was back in Thor's own room, two servants putting his armor on. When Bruce came in, Thor thanked them and shooed them off, waiting as Bruce came up to him.

They didn't say anything for a while. Bruce wasn't great at figuring out all the latches and buckles on Asgardian armor, but he'd helped Thor with it enough to finish putting everything together, only taking a few minutes. Thor simply watched him. When he was done, he placed his hands on Thor's chest. "There we go." The mix of leather and metal was cool under his palms. He didn't meet Thor's eye.

"Bruce."

Bruce just sighed and moved his arms so that they were wrapped around the other man's body, while Thor did the same, cradling his head to his chest. "Just... stay safe? And come back as soon as you can."

"Of course, _elskan mín_." He kissed Bruce's forehead for a long moment. "That's all I want."

Bruce wanted to say something else. His unanswered question from two nights ago still weighed on him, which he knew would distract him while Thor was away, but he couldn't just ask him about something like that. Not now, when Thor was about to leave for who knew how long and would only have the memory of this moment for company. Bruce stood there for a bit, before asking, "What does that mean? The thing you keep calling me. ' _Elskan mín_.'"

He felt Thor's smile on his forehead. "It's an Asgardian phrase, from a much older tongue. I believe that you call it Norse." He ran his hands through Bruce's hair, playing with it along the back of his neck. Bruce shut his eyes tight. "It means 'my darling.' The Allspeak bastardizes it, though. On Asgard... To me, those words... They say so much more than that. About what you mean to me." His voice got all quiet and Bruce swore it broke at the end.

He turned his head and straightened his back a little bit, just enough so he could get a hand on Thor's neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Thor kissed back deeply, holding Bruce so tight, like he could pull him so close that they'd never have to be apart again.

"I know we don't say it much," he whispered once they pulled apart, "but I love you."

"I love you, too." Thor hugged him again. " _Ek ann þér_. _Meira en allt_."

Bruce watched him go into the light of the Rainbow Bridge only an hour later. He didn't sleep well.

Luckily, the rest of the week was easy enough. After Bruce spent a good twenty minutes just staring at the table where he was supposed to come up with guard positioning around the city like he thought it would come to him if he just looked at it long enough, Sif took over, telling him - not unkindly - to _go sign some orders or do something else you can handle_. He appreciated it.

Thor had gotten most of the paperwork done before he left, though. Bruce was pretty sure he'd done it to leave him a smaller workload. While it was a nice gesture, it left him with not much else to do besides sit on the throne and wait for someone to have a problem that they needed his help with. He didn't have to wait long; by the afternoon of his first day, he'd heard about seventeen or so petitions that were resolved relatively quickly, as they all were either property disputes or related to money in some way. He could handle those on his own. Despite how simple they seemed, Thor would always end up asking for his opinions on these, and Bruce could see why. They were often more complicated than what they seemed on the surface and the way people would talk just made everything more confusing. Still, he understood things, and did a pretty good job of coming up with solutions that made everyone content.

Things went on like that. About four days after Thor left, though, the door to the throne room opened; Bruce, who'd been in the middle of reading some proposals for land use on a small lot that had been cleared out during Hela's takeover and was apparently very desirable for numerous businesses, was so grateful for the distraction. Fandral's grimacing face kind of ruined it.

"The council," he explained, still catching his breath. Then, in more detail: "Some representative from the council is coming to bully you into saying yes to something that Thor's been very adamantly against. I'm not sure what, I just heard it from one of the servants that Thor pays to keep us updated, and I thought it was a good idea to warn you."

"You have a spy on the council," said Bruce, deadpan.

Fandral shrugged. Bruce couldn't blame him. Thor had complained to him numerous times about the aristocrats that his father had put there, which apparently made sense when he was on the throne, but were now just a nuisance who pushed their own agenda on a new king with some very different policies than the old one. Bruce had only met its members a few times, when they tried to get friendly with him at feasts, hoping to get on Thor's good side through his lover. He didn't like them very much.

When the representative came in, he just gave Bruce all the more reason to dislike the council. He forgot the man's name after a good five minutes as he went on a sales pitch about  _invading Jotunheim_ to 'prevent an imminent attack.'

Bruce let him go on for a while, nodding at the right parts to encourage him, before cutting him off with a hand. He blinked.

"So," said Bruce, sitting up. "What are you basing this on?"

The man hesitated. "Could you clarify, my lord?"

Bruce had been referred to like that for several days now. He didn't think it would ever  _not_ be weird. Straightening his back a little bit, he said, "You keep saying the Jotuns will attack Asgard any day now. What's your evidence?"

" _History_ , my lord!" Well. He prepared for that, then. "I know you are new to our realm, but surely you must have read on our long, deadly wars with Jotunheim."

Bruce had. He'd caught on to Asgardian script relatively quickly and immediately devoured as many books in the library as he could. Every history book took long paragraphs to describe the on-again-off-again violent relationship they'd had with each other; he ended up asking Thor about it, once, and he'd explained how his father had taken one of their relics - a magical one that kept their planet alive - that had triggered the war between them. He also shamefacedly admitted to exacerbating the issue a few years ago when he attacked Jotunheim unprompted. But he made a point of talking about how he was restarting relations with them, beginning with the return of the stolen relic. Thor sounded so proud of the progress he'd been making; Bruce had felt pride, too, in how well Thor was doing just a few months into his reign.

He told him so. Thor had ducked his head, blushing. He thanked him, but then got a little bitter. He told Bruce about how the council was against everything Thor was working so hard for; they just wanted to continue fighting Jotunheim forever, wanting some kind of genocidal revenge for a war that they'd started in the first place. Bruce couldn't do much to comfort him then. All he could do was tell Thor that he was doing the right thing before kissing his cheek and saying that, if the council didn't like it, then they were just a bunch of old bitter men who could go screw themselves. That finally shocked a laugh out of him and made Bruce feel all warm and young inside.

This councilman just gave him a headache. "What you're telling me, then, is that to avoid a war with Jotunheim, you want... to start a war.... with Jotunheim."

That's when he saw it, just for a second: the brief flash of anger on the man's face as he realized that Bruce wouldn't make this as easy as he thought. He covered it up with a too-wide grin. "No, not a war! A simple offensive. Just one, in fact. With your word, we can send an army of our greatest warriors to crush the Jotuns before they even see us coming! None of them will be left to attack us again!"

Bruce hummed and nodded to himself, as if he was seriously considering it. The man looked so excited. Bruce was only to happy to lean forward, look him dead in the eyes and say, "You're asking me to order a genocide."

He never found out what the man meant to say next, as he choked on his words. Bruce smiled to himself.

"Listen. What you want me to do is poorly thought out at best and deranged at worst. I'm sorry, but no, I'm not supporting this."

The man grasped around a bit before he seemed to find what he was looking for. "But think of the king! Surely, he'd be impressed by you defeating our greatest enemy in just a few days of his-"

Bruce got angry, then. " _Actually_ ," he said with a little more force than necessary. "I know for a fact that he's told you the exact same thing I just did at least a hundred times. He thinks of Jotunheim as one of our most important allies. You _know_ this. Besides, I'm not destroying what he's been working toward for months in just a few days to impress him for some vague reason. _Your king_  put me in charge to rule like he would and I'm not about to abuse that power, so you can give up any plans taking advantage of me right now."

As he went on, Bruce could see the councilman growing angrier and angrier. It was almost comical; he was at least two heads taller than Bruce was, but sitting on Thor's throne made him feel like a giant. He could barely be bothered by the steam pouring out of the man's ears.

Bruce was sure he was going to lash out and start yelling at him when the door opened again. Brunnhilde stepped in this time, looking like she just came back from training with the Valkyrie with her hair in a braid and a grin on her face. It only got wider when she saw the councilman.

"Lord Hagen!" she said with forced cheer. So _that_ was his name. "I thought I'd find you here."

Hagen gaped at her and said nothing. She turned to Bruce. "He's not bothering you, is he, Little Guy?"

She'd taken to calling him that in the first few weeks of their friendship. It was some kind of inside joke between her and Hulk; at first, Bruce cringed at it, but now it's grown on him. He smiled at her. "No, nothing like that. He was actually just leaving - weren't you, Hagen?"

He looked between them both, a mix of rage and shock on his face at how neither of them gave a shit about his opinion, before turning to Bruce with a glare. "You'll regret this,  _Banner_ ," he spat out, turning away with a huff. The door slammed shut a couple seconds later.

Brunnhilde turned back to Bruce with a grimace. "You look like you're enjoying yourself."

"Haha, very funny." He rubbed at his eyes. "I've only been at this for a couple days. How does he _do_ it?"

She didn't need to ask who ' _he_ ' was. Instead, she went up the steps to the throne and patted Bruce on his knee. "For what it counts, I think you're doing a pretty good job."

"...Thank you, Brunnhilde."

The next week went a lot like the first. He got more people coming to him once they all realized that he was pretty good at resolving their issues, which was nice because it meant the people really did trust him, but also a curse because it meant he had so much more  _work_. There was also paperwork slowly accumulating already and Bruce was not excited in the least to start sorting through it. He did his best, anyway. Sif was still in charge of guard positioning, but she'd started having Bruce stay as she did it, so that he could learn by example. He thought he was starting to get it. Not enough to actually do it himself, obviously, but it was something.

Heimdall kept him updated on Thor's mission, though there wasn't much to say. It was the same thing, over and over again: _Thor is reasoning with the sisters. The sisters refuse to listen. The fighting has stalled. The fighting has started up again_. Bruce could only imagine Thor's frustration. He had enough trouble dealing with the councilmen who refused to leave him alone, now. Trying to stop a war was a nightmare that he wouldn't wish on anybody. He just hoped that he'd be back soon so that Bruce could comfort him somehow.

He also wanted Thor back so that he could do his usual things. Sure, he didn't hate being regent, or whatever his title was, but he missed the freedom he had before this. He could spend all day in the library, meditate in the garden, or talk to the people in town whenever he felt like it. Now, though, he had a schedule that was forced on him by others' whims. He wondered what Thor had to give up in order to run the kingdom and immediately did his best to stop whining about it in his own head. If Thor could do it, so could Bruce. Besides - he could only be gone for one more week. Bruce was sure of it.

Thor didn't come back for a month.

Bruce did his best to keep the realm in check. It was mostly all the same stuff, every day, for hours on end. There were still enough new responsibilities to keep him harried.

By the third week, Sif handed over guard positioning to him, confident that he wouldn't totally mess it up. Somehow, she was right. He also had to plan a and host a whole _feast_ the fourth week because it was Midsummer and no one thought Thor was going to be gone for so long. For some reason, Loki helped him out with that one.

Loki, in the past few weeks, had been elusive. Bruce expected nothing else - okay, he _maybe_ expected Loki to make things hell, not just disappear out of thin air - but he hadn't expected him to show up out of nowhere to take a load off of Bruce's plate. It really would've helped, considering how he'd had a two bad days in a row. He was still suspicious, though, until Loki rolled his eyes and said, "Banner, if I wanted to ruin your chance to play king, I would've impersonated you weeks ago and let the council attack Jotunheim."

Which- okay, how did Loki know about that was Bruce's first question, but then he realized that was unimportant. It made sense, anyway. So Bruce handed over the reigns of feast-planning to Loki, who ended up doing a good job, if the happy faces of everyone involved were anything to go by. He tried thanking him, but he brushed it off, simply telling Bruce to not mess things up before going back to wherever he'd been spending his time.

By the fifth week - the week that Thor finally returned - Bruce was so tired that he thought he was going to pass out in the throne room. His back ached, too, which wasn't unusual, but it was definitely more noticeable than usual. It was probably the stress, but he couldn't help the feeling that he was getting old. He'd briefly escaped to the town, just to breathe, but was only able to stay with the children for twenty minutes until Sif found him. Her face was pained as she told him he had new petitioners to speak with; the kids all got upset and started tugging at his robes, which just made Bruce feel _worse_. He had a job to do, though. He'd promised Thor. So he left the kids with the promise of coming back soon to play for real when Thor came back and let Bruce breathe again.

Bruce was so tired that, two nights later, Brunnhilde had to knock him out of bed to wake him up.

"What the _hell_ -"

"Thor's back," she said, matter-of-fact with no preamble. Bruce was out the door in an instant.

The thing that Brunnhilde didn't tell him was that Thor had been  _taken_ back, which was a little different than just coming back home of his own accord. Bruce would've liked the warning so that he wouldn't have ran into Thor's room only to see him laying in bed in obvious pain with a bloody bandage wrapped around his ribs.

"Oh my god, what happened?" he said, rushing to Thor's side. The servants and healers made a nice path for him as he made a beeline for his boyfriend, worry not easing at all when he saw that Thor was conscious, even as he smiled through the pain and reached out for him.

"Bruce, my love, I'm alright, it's nothing but a- ow, ow,  _ow_." Reaching his arm out had not been a good idea, apparently. Bruce half-climbed into bed with him so that he could press a series of desperate kisses to his face as if they were alone because  _damn it_ had he missed him so _much_.

When Bruce pulled back, Hogun appeared on the other side of the bed with an awkward cough. "He's alright, Banner. We fixed the Alfheim problem with minimal losses, and the worst damage done to him was just a stab wound from an angry-"

" _Just_ a _stab wound_?" Bruce's voice rose a few octaves.

Thor reached out again, this time to hold Bruce's face in his own, pulling him down till their foreheads touched. "Bruce. It's alright. I'll be _fine_. Asgardian healing, remember?"

"He'll be back to normal in a few days, my lord," said one of the healers. She patted Thor on the knee. That calmed Bruce down a little bit.

Then, he kissed Thor deeply. He was basically on top of him at this point, straddling him in a room full of attendants, but he just couldn't couldn't bring himself to care. "I love you," he said when they pulled apart. Peppering his face with kisses again, he whispered, " _I love you_. God, I missed you so much,  _please_ never do that again."

"I'll do my best," promised Thor, arms wrapped around Bruce's waist. It was good enough. (It had to be.)

Later, when everyone left and Bruce collected himself enough to change Thor's bandages, Thor explained to him how they'd been able to get the sisters on Alfheim to come to a truce. After two weeks, he realized that the only reason they were fighting was because they thought the other had poisoned their eldest sister. Thor had the Valkyrie look into it and they were able to trace the poison to an underground dealer - a Dark Elf refugee - who pointed them in the direction of the women's eldest uncle, who was their only living relative and set to take the throne if his nieces died. Once he brought the evidence to them, the sisters reunited, agreeing to share the throne.

Then their uncle broke his bonds, got a knife, and went straight for the person he viewed as responsible for ruining things.

"Luckily, Hogun had him in a headlock before any real damage could be done," he added quickly. Bruce guessed that he wasn't as good at hiding his distress as he thought.

Once he finished, Bruce helped Thor out of the rest of his uniform before dousing the lamp and climbing into bed beside him, careful of the wound. They laid like that in silence.

After a few minutes, Thor turned his head toward him. "Bruce," he murmured. He kissed his jaw.

Bruce kept his eyes closed, curling into him some more. "I'm tired, Thor."

There was a beat before Thor's hand found his. They linked their fingers together. "Goodnight, then, _elskan mín_. I love you."

Then they both passed out for nearly a whole day. Everyone had them covered. Sif handled security, Brunnhilde scared the councilmen away, Heimdall kept a careful eye on Alfheim, the Warriors Three informed the city that the king and Bruce were taking a day off, and Loki - of all people - made sure that the palace didn't burn around them as they slept.

Thor spent the rest of the week healing. Bruce went back to his duties as regent, but it was only half of the workload that he had before, as everyone was helping where they could. He was thankful. He took advantage of the time, spending the first few days with Thor before going off to see the children again, giving him some alone time with Loki.

God, did Bruce miss his afternoons with the kids. Some of them were orphans from Hela's rule, who already had new homes and families and treated Bruce like a fun uncle, while others were just kids who wanted to see the man who turned into a green giant up close and hear his stories from Midguard. They were always so happy to share their own stories with Bruce, which they did, telling him about everything that he'd missed in the past month.  _Susanna lost her baby teeth. Tori has a baby brother now and he's really tiny; are Midguardian babies that small?_

_Erica's brother is getting married and their cousin is gonna try out for the Valkyrie next month. Do you think she's gonna get in? We think she's gonna get in. She's really good._

_How's the king?  We heard he got hurt, but he's fine now._

_Did you miss him? Everyone really missed him._

_Why were you so busy?_

_What does "regent" mean?_

_Are you okay, Mr. Banner?_

As happy as the kids made him, Bruce was just... tired. He was so, so tired, still.

He'd missed Thor so much. He'd pushed himself to fulfill all the duties that he had to do, not allowing himself to think about his feelings over missing Thor and the insecurities that had plagued him before he left. It was just the distraction he needed. Now, though, there was nothing stopping him from thinking about those problems. All he could think about was the damn question that he asked two nights before Thor left:  _Why don't we live together?_

Bruce thought on it as he walked back to Thor's room. Asgardian healing wasn't a joke; he'd already started walking around his room and could stretch with minimal effort, as the wound was already closed up. Bruce knew that, sooner rather than later, Thor would be back to normal. They'd go back to their usual routines, with Thor living-but-not-really in Bruce's room, while Bruce would pretend that he was fine with it. As he turned the corner, though, he had to stop because he realized that he wasn't. He really, really wasn't.

It _hurt_ when Thor left his room every morning after. It reminded Bruce that it wasn't  _their_ bed; it wasn't _their_ room; this wasn't _their_ life. And those reminders hurt. He never really let himself think about it because his life was so _good_ besides that and thinking about the other parts made him feel ungrateful, almost. That was ridiculous.

That was _ridiculous_ because Bruce could be upset about things. He had the right. Why shouldn't he have been upset about it?

Why couldn't he just  _accept_ the good in his life and be  _happy_ , though? He starting walking again, dragging his hands down his face. God, what was his life. He was sad when he didn't have anything, but now that he had  _almost_ everything, he was sad about the little bit that he didn't have. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe there was nothing wrong at all. Maybe he just needed to sleep more.

Maybe he needed to look where he was going, since he walked straight into Loki, too focused on his own self-loathing to avoid it. He stumbled back with a grimace. "Crap, sorry."

Loki opened his mouth. Then, in a very un-Loki-like move, hesitated. After a moment, he said, "Do you really love my brother?"

Bruce blinked. He did not know what was happening anymore. When was the last time that Loki cared about his and Thor's relationship? When was the last time he started a _conversation_ with him? Never, probably. Still. He was going to answer the question. "Of course I do. Thor's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Loki squinted at him for a few moments. It wasn't unlike being a bug under a microscope. Bruce shifted in place, feeling very uncomfortable. Finally, Loki seemed to find whatever he was looking for. He sighed, muttered, "Ugh, alright, fine," - he had no idea who he was talking to - and pointed a finger in Bruce's face. "Alright, Banner. Just know that, if you hurt him, you won't live to regret it. I'll make sure of it."

"I'd  _never_  hurt him." There was probably something wrong with the fact that he was more bothered by the insinuation that he'd hurt Thor than the threat to his life.

"They always say that," said Loki, but Bruce got the feeling he was definitely talking to himself that time. He walked off, seemingly satisfied, though he did make a point of turning back to shout at him. "Don't ruin this, Banner!"

" _Okay_?" But Loki had already turned the corner with a flourish, leaving Bruce to stand in front of Thor's room in confusion. Moments like these made him miss his normal life.

Still. His old life didn't have Thor in it. Thor, who was currently standing on his balcony in nothing but his pants and an open robe, hair blowing in the breeze like the god he was. His bandage was gone. As Bruce got closer, he could see the wound was already scarring over. It made his own ribs ache in a way that he didn't like at all.

Thor didn't turn when Bruce came up to him. He decided to just lean on the railing with him, laying a hand on top of Thor's. Thor kept his gaze on Heimdall's observatory in the distant sunset, but he did turn his hand palm-up, so that their hands locked together. Bruce took a few deep breaths, telling himself to enjoy the moment. Eventually, his insecurities were replaced.

They stood like that for a long time. It was nice.

"Bruce?" asked Thor, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember when we first met?"

Bruce made a face like he was in deep thought. "I think? I don't know. I just remember looking at you and thinking you had a weird costume."

Thor laughed, quiet and soft. "I remember you being small. Then very, very big." He frowned. "Hulk punched me."

"Sorry about that." Bruce kissed lifted their hands so he could kiss Thor's, smiling against his skin. "I remember meeting you on Sakaar a lot better, though."

"Sakaar?"

"Yep. I woke up shirtless, all dazed and confused on a planet that I'd never seen before, and... There you were. With your hair all short and everything." He gestured around Thor's head, where his hair now reached his shoulders again. "All I could think about was how blue your eyes were."

"Well." Thor was blushing as he pointed at the one he had left. He wasn't wearing his eye patch. "I still have one of those, at least."

"It's still the prettiest thing I've ever seen," said Bruce without thinking. He leaned up to kiss Thor's cheek, right under that eye, then paused for a moment. He pressed a kiss to the skin where his other eye used to be. Thor seemed surprised by that; he blinked rapidly, looking at Bruce with mouth slightly open. Bruce just smiled at him.

Then, in a flash,  he was lifted up in a bridal-carry. " _Thor_!" He had no other choice but to wrap his arms around the man's neck.

Thor only laughed, carrying Bruce back inside while he nuzzled at his face, his beard tickling Bruce's face He barely had time to adjust between being dropped on the bed and Thor climbing on top of him. His lips were everywhere, kissing Bruce's face, trailing down his jaw, his neck, then back to his lips. Dazed, he could only kiss back, clutching at Thor's shoulders.

Thor pulled back first. "Do you know how much I love you, Bruce Banner?"

He bumped their noses together, a smile spreading wide on his face. "I think I'm getting an idea."

"I love you more than all the stars in the universe." He kissed Bruce's nose. "The seconds in a day." His cheeks. "The days in a lifetime." His eyelids. "Every leaf that's ever fallen from the tree where I first kissed you." His lips again, long and deep and so soft.

Bruce was on fire. He wanted to tell him that. He wanted to tell Thor that he felt the same and be able to articulate his feelings in such a beautiful way. When they pulled back, he tried. All that came out was breathy " _Thor_."

" _Bruce_." His voice was barely a whisper, but Bruce could feel could feel it in his bones, while his legs got weak and he felt himself get wet.

When Thor kissed him again, Bruce felt him rub against his thigh. He moaned into Thor's mouth; Thor pulled off his robe and threw it to the side before reaching for the hem of Bruce's tunic. Bruce nodded so fast he felt like he felt like a bobble head. "Please," he said, sitting up as Thor practically ripped it off of him. After a few minutes of kissing and shimmying, they were both naked.

When Bruce got a hand around around him, Thor threw his head back, gasping out something in what he assumed to be Old Norse. Bruce dragged his lips down his neck, twisting his wrist in a way that made Thor dig his nails into his back and his dick hard. Bruce laughed.

" _Oh_ , two can play at that game," he muttered, which was the only warning Bruce got before there were two fingers inside him. He swore as his knees gave out. They ended up in heap on the sheets, kissing absentmindedly as their hands drove each other wild. Bruce was half on top of him, which made his attempts to jerk Thor off faulty, with his arm at an awkward angle like that. Thor seemed to have the same problem; he let out a frustrated growl as he pulled his fingers out of Bruce. He protested. Then Thor was lifting his leg a little so that Bruce could grind against it and, _god_ , that worked, too.

It worked better when he actually sat up and ground down, dragging a long moan out of himself. He kept one hand on his chest, twisting his nipples, while the other stayed around Thor's dick. He pumped him up and down, making Thor writhe as he gripped Bruce's hips. He was pretty like that - blonde locks falling over his face, his throat bared, his hard chest heaving as he panted - and was probably about to come soon. Bruce wasn't close enough.

Thor, after Bruce took his hand off his dick, made a face like he'd never been more betrayed. " _Why_?" he whined.

Bruce gave him another once-over. Thor's face was flushed, eyes half-lidded and mouth open. His hair was a mess as Thor ran a desperate hand through it, before his arm just flopped to the side. He looked ruined. Bruce felt so powerful like this; he wasn't just in bed with a king. He was in bed with a god who was giving him everything and would probably do anything he asked. The insecurities that had plagued him for the past few days slid off his back like water. Bruce'd never felt so confident.

"Because," he said, moving off of Thor's thigh just enough to finger himself. They slid in with no resistance; he was soaking wet, now, and could feel it dribbling down his thighs. "I - _ah_ \- I want to ride you. _Shit_ -" He brushed against his clit, sending a jolt of electricity up his spine as his hips bucked. He gave into it and let his eyes fall shut.

Thor groaned somewhere below him. It felt so far away in comparison to Bruce's fingers as they slid in and out of himself, his eyes rolling back, everything between his legs  _throbbing_. They shifted around so that Thor's head was back against the pillows, and when a hand grabbed the back of his neck, he let it drag him down. Thor kissed him like the world was ending before taking Bruce's hands in his own to place them on his chest. Bruce took the hint.

Taking a few deep breaths, he shifted around till he was straddling Thor. Thor, for his part, held himself in one hand and Bruce's hip in the other. He mumbled little encouragements, his thumb stroking the skin beneath it. The little touch sent sparks straight to Bruce's groin.

So he licked his lips and sat down on Thor's dick.

"Oh, Jesus," he gasped out, arms shaking as he held himself up.

Thor looked like he was using all of his power just to keep his eyes open. " _Bruce_." Both hands were clinging to his hips again. "Bruce, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce."

"I know, I know." Bruce couldn't seem to catch his breath. A month was way too long to go without this. God, how had he gone for so _long_ without this? He somehow found the strength to start moving his hips, quickly finding a rhythm he liked. His head fell forward as his hips rolled, gasping and letting out little breathy moans and whines.

Fingers dug so tightly into Bruce's hips that he knew he'd wake up with bruises. Thor groaned, bucking his hips up into him. Bruce wasn't expecting it; he gasped and whined, adjusting his rhythm so that his hips met Thor's on every thrust and it felt _so_ _good_.

"So good," growled Thor. The words came from somewhere deep within his chest, the vibrations making Bruce whimper. "You feel so good. Missed you so much, love, missed _this_ -" He thrust up particularly hard. Bruce cried out with his head thrown back, and Thor let go of his hips to clutch at his wrists, still thrusting into him. "Missed holding you; being inside you."

The dirty talk had Bruce moaning, incoherent. God, Thor inside of him was good and the rhythm was amazing, but it wasn't enough. He was so close. He just wasn't there _yet_. In some attempt to get that little something else he needed, he tried rocking down harder. It didn't work. "Fuck, come _on_ ," he said, voice breaking.

Before Bruce knew it, Thor had let go of his wrists to reach around him and start kneading his ass with no warning whatsoever. Bruce nearly collapsed right there. " _Jesus fucking Christ_."

Thor laughed breathlessly; the blue of his eye was nearly drowned out by his dark pupil.

It didn't take long for Bruce to come, then. All Thor had to do was drag a finger over his hole and he was a goner, coming with Thor's name on his lips like a mantra, going boneless as he fell on top of him.

That was when Thor really fucked him in earnest, thrusting upwards as he sought his own release. Bruce moaned at the over-stimulation. Thor just wrapped his arms around him. Bruce turned his head, trying to kiss him, but Thor was too desperate to do so. They mostly panted into each other's mouths.

"I know you're close, honey." Bruce was using the breathiest voice possible. He laid a sloppy kiss on Thor's jaw. "I got you, I got you. You can do it."

Thor's voice broke. " _Bruce_."

"Come on, Thor. Just come," he whispered. The last bit was said right along the shell of his ear. "Please, _elskan mín_ , just come."

Thor came _hard_. " _Fuck_!" he cried, clutching Bruce tighter to him as he ground into him through the aftershocks. The only sounds that could be heard afterwards were their panting.

Bruce, once he caught his breath, had every intention of moving to get a rag or something. He quickly found that he couldn't. Every bone in his body felt like jello. In fact, he hadn't felt this weightless in forever. He couldn't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?" He could practically hear the smile in Thor's voice.

It made Bruce giggle more, tucking his face into the crook of his neck. "I think you broke me."

There was a beat before Thor started laughing - _really laughing_ , his whole body shaking with it. "I could say the same, you _minx_." He cupped Bruce's face and pulled him in for a lazy kiss. Their lips slid against each other as they laid there, Thor's arms around him while Bruce wrapped their legs together, sated, happy, and perfectly at peace.

Bruce didn't know when he fell asleep. All he remembered was waking up to sunlight filtering in from the windows; the feeling of Thor's kisses along his shoulders. He'd sighed and leaned into it without opening his eyes. "G'morning."

"Good morning, love." Thor mumbled into his skin. It made Bruce smile to himself, burying his face in the nearest pillow before he turned around to kiss him.

"Mm." Bruce hummed into Thor's mouth. When they separated, he said, "God, I missed waking up to you."

Thor nuzzled his nose. "As did I. I could hardly sleep without you beside me."

Bruce decided he should get up after a few seconds of that. He needed food and a nice, warm bath. When he moved to get up, though, his back twinged and he fell back with a hiss. Thor was over him immediately.

"Bruce, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" His hands hovered over him, eyebrows furrowed in worry. He was frowning.

It was adorable, almost. Bruce would have appreciated it more if he wasn't so busy waiting for the pain to subside. "No, don't worry, it's fine," he said, waving Thor off. "Just some back pain. It's normal, I'll be fine in a second."

"Normal?"

"Yeah." Bruce smiled at him. He was already feeling better, so he laughed a little bit. "I'm just getting old, is all."

Thor didn't laugh. In fact, his face was unreadable. Bruce got the creeping feeling that he'd said something wrong.

"...Thor?"

He suddenly buried his face in Bruce's neck and inhaled deeply. "Don't joke about that." His voice wavered. "You, aging. It's not funny to me."

That's when Bruce felt his neck get damp. "Oh, no, _honey_." He stroked Thor's hair, hushing him. It didn't do much.

"Do you know how long I've lived?" Thor took a shuddering breath. "Do you even  _want_ to?"

Bruce kissed his hairline, a lump forming in his throat. "Do you want to tell me?"

Thor laughed, his tears soaking Bruce's collar. "Bruce, I've lived for over four thousand years. Four  _thousand_. I've watched Midguard, your Earth, that entire time. I've watched your kingdoms rise and fall, your cultures change, languages be born, societies die..." His voice was hushed in awe. "Something is always happening. A million things happen all at once. You all have so little time and you  _make it all count_. It's amazing."

Bruce didn't say anything. He just stroked Thor's hair, Thor's back.

"But I've never seen a star be born and die in my lifetime. I've never seen a planet destroy itself, or a galaxy be born, or watched a star turn into a black hole. And Bruce?" His hands shook as they laid on Bruce's chest, right over his heart. "Those are  _rites of passage_  here. Eight years ago was my coming of age. I'm so _young_ , Bruce. So young, with all the time that my youth has to offer me."

"It's okay, Thor."

"No, it's _not_. You're so wonderful, Bruce. You're perfect. _Perfect_. You're everything I've ever wanted, and we only have decades left together. My father could barely live past my mother's death. They spent thousands of years together. After you're gone, I'll be here for hundreds of millennia more, _alone_. I'll live a  _thousand lifetimes_ after you. I can't do that. I can't. It's not fair."

"...It's not." The world started to blur, so Bruce shut his eyes tight, ignoring the tears that escaped down his cheeks as he kissed Thor's forehead. "I know it's not." At a loss, he simply whispered, "I love you."

"And I love you. Bruce, I love you more than  _anything_." Thor's voice was steady as he said it. Sure, with no hesitation. Like he'd thought it over a hundred times before because he knew it was true. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

And that... That meant something. Every word that he'd said meant something - _meant everything_ \- but this? This was  _something_. "Thor, look at me."

Thor sniffed, but did as he was told. His face was a splotchy red and his eye was puffy. Once Bruce shifted so that they were both on their sides, he did his best to stroke Thor's tears away, hushing him until he calmed down. Thor did the same for him.

"Where's all of this coming from?" said Bruce. Thor clutched at the hand on his cheek, turning to kiss the palm. Bruce's heart clenched. "Honey, I need you to talk to me."

It took a little while for Thor to collect himself enough to do that. "Do you remember our last night together? Before I went to Alfheim? You... you asked me why weren't  living together."

Bruce remembered all too well. He got the sudden urge to either laugh or cry; instead, he nodded.

"I want that, Bruce. To live with you. To share a bed with you, a  _life_ with you." Bruce felt like the air got knocked from his lungs. "But I'm king, so it's not that easy, nothing is ever easy anymore. Except for you. But then I realized that- And I was going to tell you- Then Alfheim happened." He cupped Bruce's cheek. "I was going to give you a better answer, Bruce, I swear." 

He still had no idea what that answer was supposed to be, but Bruce found himself nodding again, anyway.

"Then, I thought- I could make something out of it. A test, I suppose."

Bruce blinked. "You put me in charge of Asgard as a _test_?" It wasn't even funny. Why was he laughing?

"Maybe." Thor wouldn't stop smiling at him. "Mostly, I just wanted to prove to everyone that you were worthy. Just like I knew you are. And you _did_. You were amazing, Bruce."

"You weren't even _there_." He was still so lost.

"I asked Loki to be, though."

"But he-" Then Bruce paused, remembering how weirdly helpful he'd been with the feast; how he'd known about his arguments with the council. "Wait, he was _watching_ me?"

Thor's smile was infectious. "You were a good king, it seems."

Bruce felt the heat rise in his cheeks. In lieu of an answer, he buried his face in the nearest pillow.

"Come back here," said Thor, laughing. Bruce peeked out and saw his hands reaching for his face; he let him.

Bruce mumbled, "I was just regent. And I had _help_ , plenty of it."

Thor didn't seem bothered by it one bit. "Loki told me about what you told the council, how you turned their logic against them, promised to rule as I would." He ran a hand through Bruce's hair. "That was everything I could have asked for."

He didn't know what to with that. "Still not as good as you."

"Stop denying it. You'd make an amazing ruler. You just proved as much."

He was looking so closely at Bruce, so honest. He took one of Bruce's hands wordlessly and brought it up to his lips as he pressed a kiss to each knuckle. Bruce couldn't look away; neither did Thor.

"The answer that I had for you," he murmured, "The answer to your question last month. Do you want to hear it?"

Bruce nodded, wide-eyed.

"The reason why I haven't been living with you is that... I've been scared." Their fingers intertwined as he spoke. "Not of the concept, of course. Living with you is all that I want. I want anything that you could give me. I'd do anything for it, but I was scared of asking of this because it's... not simple. I wish it was." He hesitated.

"...I'm king. Everything has to be so complicated now. But, Bruce- Out of everything in my life, you are the one thing that stays simple. Easy. I never have to play mind games or fight with you. I can just  _be_ with you. But, I couldn't just..." He trailed off. Bruce was stuck with his mind racing, trying to understand what Thor was getting at while also feeling oh so light at the words. He continued, "I only want you to know that I love you, Bruce. When I say that I want whatever you are willing to give me, I mean it. I will take whatever you are willing for me to have. You already have my heart, my soul, my body. If that is all you want, I will be more than happy to leave them under your care.

"But... If you agreed to my request..."

Bruce held his hand in a death grip, hanging off every word.

"It would be an honor to give you something else. One more gift. Something much bigger than myself, but just as equal to my soul, if not more so. What my soul fights for, or _who_ _I_ fight for. Who you've already proven yourself worthy of; you've cared for them just as much as I have. You've cared for them so _well_."

That's when it clicked. "Oh my god," whispered Bruce. His hands were shaking.

"Bruce. _Bruce_ , I want to ask you something."

"Oh my god." He felt like he was going to cry again. "Oh my _god_."

Thor's eye shimmered with happy tears. " _Elskan mín_. My love. My heart."

" _Thor_." He couldn't stop smiling and crying all at once.

"Bruce Banner-" said Thor, smile so wide it was blinding, "-will you marry me?"

Bruce cried out, "Yes, yes, fucking _yes_ ," before he flipped them over in his excitement and they tumbled off the bed.

* * *

Now, three months later, here Bruce stood. The throne room was packed with courtiers and servants and townspeople alike. As Bruce walked in - Brunnhilde following behind, sword raised, just like they practiced - everyone was silent. He could see the rest of the Valkyrie at the very end of the room; they all stood behind the dais, clustered to the side of either throne.

Bruce smiled. There were two thrones there, now. That had been a surprise from Thor a week after the proposal. He'd pulled Bruce aside one day and, after kissing him senseless, shyly asked what he thought of having a throne for himself. Bruce had just kissed him again.

Heimdall stood a few steps up the stairs, the Hofund sword in hand, pointing outwards. He couldn't see them from where he was, but he knew a pair of matching rings rested on its blade. Bruce would be standing one one side of it to Heimdall's left. Thor was already at his right.

 _Thor_. He stood there in the same clothing Bruce was in, his hair back to its old length while his hands were folded in front of him. As Bruce got closer, he could see that Thor had the same look of awe and love on his face that he knew was reflected onto his own.

He was going to marry that man today. By the end of the day, Thor was going to be his _husband_.

Bruce's cheeks hurt again from how wide his smile was by the time he got to the dais. Thor was having the similar problem. Everyone seemed to have it, as well; try as he might, Bruce couldn't find a single frown among the crowd. If Hagen were around, he surely would've done so, but Thor had thrown out the entire council two months ago and replaced them with ambassadors from each of the Nine Realms. He could see them all in attendance, including the sisters of Alfheim, who stood on a balcony overlooking the hall and were grinning from ear to ear.

Loki came up from behind Thor, then. He was carrying a royal red robe that he carefully draped around his brother's shoulders, fixing the folds and looking almost... proud. Brunnhilde did the same to Bruce. It was embroidered with the same silver thread that was on the white tunic, but this was written in Asgardian script. A year ago, Bruce would have thought they were just scribbles, but he now was able to read them for what they truly were: ' _May you ever find shelter under the branches of Yggdrasil._ '

Thor had explained to him the significance of the phrase.  _It's one of our most important blessings_ , he'd said.  _It means many things. It's about the unity of the Nine Realms and the energy that binds us all through the cosmic bridge. For us, though..._ He'd reached out and taken Bruce's hand in his own, kissing the back of it just as reverently as Bruce had been tracing the lettering.  _It means that, no matter where we are, we will always be connected to each other. Just look for Yggdrasil's starlight - that's what keeps us bound. So long as Yggdrasil stands, we will never be apart. We will always be safe until we can hold each other again._

In the present, Bruce reached over the sword. Thor took his hands without question and they held on tight, refusing to let go for anything.

Bruce could only see the quirk to Heimdall's lips because he was standing so close. When he raised his eyebrows at them, they both nodded, never taking their eyes off each other.

So Heimdall spoke. "People of Asgard, noble ancestors, and all those who have assembled here today: we welcome you to our sacred circle. We ask that you bear witness to this holy union of matrimony – and that this marriage be a lasting bond of commitment and perfect love..."

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  _Wide awake, that’s okay, as long as I’m with you_   
>  _I’ll be up all night, no sleep_   
>  _Cause I feel like I’m **always dreaming**_   
> 
> 
> i'm on tumblr [@leiastwin](https://leiastwin.tumblr.com/) and twitter [@rapheliorn](https://twitter.com/rapheliorn)


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